Jon Borthwick Higgins was born in 1939 in Andover, Massachusetts, U.S.A. He was an American musician, scholar and teacher. He had this rare skill as a non-Indian in the field of Carnatic Music. He attended Wesleyan University and received Three degrees viz: B.A. as a double major in Music and History, M.A. in Musicology and Ph.D in Ethno Musicology.
He founded the Indian music studies program at York University with Trichy Sankaran in the ‘70s, and returned to Wesleyan in 1978 as a professor of music and Director of the Center for the Arts. He immersed himself in numerous cultural activities inside and beyond the university community. He also maintained a deep relationship with his family.
Higgins was a singer of European and Western classical music. He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by Robert E.Brown and T.Ranganathan and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a Fullbright scholarship to learn from T. Viswanathan. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the Tyagaraja Aradhana, an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under the renowned dancer T. Balasaraswati, and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of Bharatanatyam. Higgins returned to India as a Senior Research Fellow of the American Institute of Indian Studies. He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums. He was deservedly honoured with the sobriquet "Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician).
His katcheris (concerts) used to draw full houses and were broadcast regularly on All India Radio. He continued to enthrall his fans till the fate seized him in the year 1984 owing to an accident.
ENDARO MAHANUBHAVULU..ANDARIKI VANDANAMULU
JOH HIGGINS was one such MAHANUBHAVUDU…our VANANAMULU TO HIM!
-Nag.
